Flexible system for sealing control buttons and relaying movement, for watches and other instruments

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a rubber plate (elastic) (FIG. 1 ) which, when soldered at its edges (FIG.  1 A) to the inside of the body (case) of a watch (or other object) (FIG.  3 A), totally seals it against water and dust. At the same time, in view of the fact that it is soldered at its sides (edges), its central part remains totally free, thus permitting the movement of the outside control buttons (FIG.  4 C, D and  6 A) and activating the mechanism, whether it is electronic (FIG.  3 D) or mechanical (FIG.  5  and  7 ) (digital or analog). When the external controls are pressed, the corresponding function is switched on internally (FIG.  4 E, F). A single plate (FIG.  3 A) can be used for various controls (FIG.  3 B, C) or one plate for each control (FIG.  4 A, B), depending on the distance between them and the space available in the watch-case. This system, which involves extremely low costs, is not exclusive to watches and can be used for any instrument that is intended to be placed in deep water or where a lot of dust is present (or non-corrosive liquids), for example stopwatches, cameras, video cameras, floodlights, underwater weapons, etc., without the risk of any penetration, even at a great depth.

The present invention relates to a sealing element consisting of aflexible plate for sealing control buttons, which is made of rubber andis designed to equip and allow watches and other electronic ormechanical instruments to be exposed to adverse conditions, such aswater, dust and being placed in very deep water, without anyinfiltration at all.

The format of the plate can be oval, circular, triangular, square,rectangular, etc., and it also varies in thickness depending on the typeof use required.

The raw material used is rubber, preferably vegetable rubber (extractedfrom the rubber-tree), since it is more flexible, soft and resistant,which are properties that have been proven in products such as surgicalgloves, condoms and elastic materials.

The function of this system is to isolate the mechanism of an instrumentfrom the outside world (without altering the functioning thereof), thusmaking it totally impossible for dust particles or water to infiltrateand therefore prolonging the useful life of the instrument in question,even if it is used under very adverse conditions.

For this purpose, the abovemention plate element must be fixed by meansof a suitable process to the inside of the watch mechanism at the exactpoint where the control buttons are situated. The elasticity of thematerial used for the sealing element allows the element to be deformedwhen the control button is moved forward. It is therefore possible toguarantee the activation of the mechanism and the functions of the watchby activating the external command buttons, while maintaining theaforementioned internal mechanism completely isolated.

Watches with some sort of sealing already exist, namely diving watches.However, the control buttons for these types of watches are highprecision valves which, although they are sometimes fallible, areextremely sophisticated and very expensive, which therefore increasesthe price of the watch.

Thus, although it is possible to demonstrate the need for watches thatare waterproof or can withstand other adverse conditions, they are stillconsidered as a “luxury goods”.

With this new infallible system, it is now possible to produce a watchwhich is waterproof and can withstand other adverse conditions such asdust, etc. and which is good quality and cheap, meaning that wearers donot have to worry about taking the watch off for heavy-duty work, whenthey are having a bath, diving, having a shower, washing clothes, doingthe washing-up, working near the cooker, etc.

Apart from the fact that it functions perfectly, the main advantage ofthis system for sealing controls, which does not allow any water toenter even when it is used under water, is the low cost thereof. Thissystem can be used with sophisticated and luxury watches with a goldmechanism and case, as well as for very basic watches made of plastic,rubber, fiberglass, carbon or non-precious metal.

Everybody needs waterproof watches, irrespective of their sporting orprofessional activity. However, they are not accessible to everyone dueto the fact that they are very expensive, in view of the aforementionedtraditional control buttons. This new system transforms this situationonce and for all in a practical, efficient and inexpensive way, as shownin the embodiments attached hereto.

For a clearer understanding of the description that follows, drawings ofsome of the possible embodiments of the invention are attached hereto,all relating to watches, which are of a non-restrictive nature and aresimply intended as examples:

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a few sealing elements consisting of a plate with variouspossible embodiments;

FIG. 2 shows a watch-case;

FIG. 3 shows a watch-case with a sealing element consisting of a platefitted in place;

FIG. 4 shows a watch-case with two sealing elements consisting of aplate;

FIG. 5 shows a watch with a mechanical mechanism with a sealing element.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show push button and sealing element.

As shown in the attached figures the sealing element consisting of aplate can take various forms, such as those shown in FIG. 1. The shadedarea is where the plate is intended to be attached (1 A), for example bymeans of chemical soldering, and the white area in the center (1 B) isthe free or flexible part, which relays the movements of the controlbuttons(3B,C).

FIG. 2 represents a watch-case which shows the holes (2 A, B) throughwhich the control buttons (2 C, D) activate the functions of themechanism.

FIG. 3 shows a model where the system with a single plate (3 A) protectsand relays the movements of the two (or more) control buttons (3 B, C).The mechanism (3 D) and its electronic controls (3 E, F) are thereforetotally protected and can be activated without any difficulty.

As shown in FIG. 4, the model watch has two control buttons that are farenough apart to justify the applications of two sealing elementsconsisting of a plate (4A, B), whereby each of the abovementioned platesprotects one of the control buttons and allows it to be activated (4C,D). The control button (4 C) is being activated from the outside by theuser and this movement (4 E) activates in turn the controls of themechanism (4 F). As demonstrated, when the control buttons are activatedthis causes the elastic deformation of the sealing element consisting ofa plate, which allows the mechanism to be activated by the movement ofthe control button, while maintaining a perfect seal between theexterior and the mechanism of the watch.

FIG. 5 and 6 show how a sealing element consisting of a plate functionsin watches with a mechanical mechanism (or any object other than awatch), whatever the type of gearing used (manual or electric). Everytime a control button is activated (5 A, 6 A), the sealing elementconsisting of a plate (5 B) makes an identical movement internally (6 B)by exerting pressure on the parts which adjust the time, date, etc. (andwhich, like the plates, may take various forms). The number of partsvaries according to the number of control buttons that exist, whichdepends on the number of functions of the watch.

As demonstrated, the watch-case is fitted with a sealing elementconsisting of a plate which is suitably installed using an appropriateprocess. This element allows the movement of the control button toactivate the mechanism described below, causing a cog to rotate which isattached to the extended end of the main axis of the mechanism, i.e. theaxis which has the hands at the other end, thus allowing the time to beadjusted.

The abovementioned device that is illustrated here as a whole consistsof a type of arm (5 C) fixed in such a was as to be able to move bymeans of an axis (5 D), around which the mechanism as a whole rotates.At one end of the device, next to the axis of attachment (5 D),precisely at the point which assimilates the movement of the plate (5 B,6 B), in order to avoid wear and tear on the sealing element consistingof a plate (5 B), there is a wheel (5 E). The spring (5 F) forces thedevice as whole to go back to its rest position after each movement. Atthe other end there is a moveable part (5 H) that looks like the face ofa dog, which is attached to the arm of the device (5 C) by means of anaxis (5 G) and is held in place by means of a stopper (5 I), thusallowing it to move in relation to the arm when pressure ceases to beexerted on the secondary cog (5 J), then going back to its rest positionassisted by the spring (5 K), when the arm returns from the position ofexertion caused by the action of the control button and with the aid ofthe stopper (5 I) whose function is to prevent any backwards movement tothe rest position while pressure is being exerted. The secondary cog (5J) rotates in an anti-clockwise direction by virtue of the action of themoveable part (5 H) in order to exert pressure on the main cog (5 L) andcause clockwise movement (so as not to force or damaged the machine).The secondary cog (5 J) is attached by means of an axis (5 M) to asupporting part of the mechanism (which does not move), while the maincog (5 L) is fixed to the extension of the main axis of the mechanism (5N), being the axis which couples the hands at the other end.

As mentioned above, the sealing element must be attached to the insideof the watch-case using a suitable process according to the material tobe applied in the watch-case and in the mechanism. However, the quickestand most economical process is a chemical soldering process by means ofgluing using a suitable material. This should be considered as thepreferred embodiment of the invention. By way of a non-restrictiveexample we can mention the gluing process first of all using a glue madeof a polyacrylate which dries rapidly (in a few minutes). Afterwards, aslow-drying glue made of an epoxy resin is applied to the edges of thesealing element consisting of a plate, in order to permanently cover anypossible flaws in the first gluing process. These two gluing processes,which attach the sealing element to the watch-case, guarantee perfectresults and prevent any infiltration of water or any other material, asdemonstrated in numerous tests carried out by the inventor.

In order for the sealing system to be 100% effective, watches of thistype can also be fitted with a system that transforms ordinaryelectronic watches into device that are extremely resistant to blows(using exaggerated tests). This systems involves filling all the emptyspaces between the component parts with a substance made of paraffinwhich hardens after it has been applied, thus forcing each part toremain in place.

Since the possibility of failure in a digital mechanism is practicallyalways due to a loose connection, watches are therefore guaranteed tolast longer even when they are subjected to strong blows.

What is claimed is:
 1. In an instrument having a case comprising a wallincluding at least one opening, an apparatus within the case, theapparatus including at least one control that is movable with respect tothe case, and an actuator passing through the wall for moving thecontrol, the improvement comprising: at least one plate-like sealingelement having a central portion and a peripheral portion, theperipheral portion being bonded to an inside surface of the casesurrounding the at least one opening so that the central portion issituated between the actuator and the control and moveable therewith,the sealing element being effective to prevent environmental intrusioninto contact with the instrument from outside the case through the atleast one opening.
 2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the peripheryof the at least one sealing element is in the form of a geometric figureselected from the group consisting of square, rectangle, circle, oval,triangle, and diamond.
 3. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the atleast one opening comprises a plurality of adjacent openings, eachopening containing a separate actuator, the at least one sealing elementhaving a peripheral portion of sufficient size to surround the pluralityof adjacent openings so that the central portion contacts the separateactuators.
 4. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the at least onesealing element is composed essentially of natural rubber.
 5. Theimprovement of claim 4 wherein the bonded peripheral portion includes alayer of rapidly drying polyacrylate glue.
 6. The improvement of claim 5further comprising an outer edge formed by a slower-drying epoxy resinglue applied to the boned peripheral portion.
 7. The improvement ofclaim 1 wherein the instrument is a watch.
 8. In an instrument having acase comprising a wall including at least one opening, an apparatuswithin the case, the apparatus including at least one control that ismovable with respect to the case, and an actuator passing through thewall for moving the control, the improvement comprising: at least oneplate-like sealing element having a central portion and a peripheralportion, the peripheral portion being bonded by a layer of a first gluethat dries at a first rate to an inside surface of the case surroundingthe at least one opening so that the central portion is situated betweenthe actuator and the control so as to be movable therewith, and an outeredge formed by a slower-drying glue applied to the bonded peripheralportion, the sealing element being effective to prevent environmentalintrusion into contact with the instrument from outside the case throughthe at least one opening.
 9. The improvement of claim 8 wherein thefirst glue consists essentially of a polyacrylate glue which drieswithin a few minutes.
 10. The improvement of claim 8 wherein theslower-drying glue consist essentially of an epoxy resin.
 11. Theimprovement of claim 8 wherein the at least one sealing element iscomposed essentially of natural rubber.
 12. In an instrument having acase comprising a wall including a plurality of adjacent openings, anapparatus within the case, the apparatus including at least a pluralityof controls that are movable with respect to the case, and actuatorssituated in the adjacent openings and passing through the wall formoving the controls, the improvement comprising: a plate-like sealingelement having a central portion and a peripheral portion, theperipheral portion being boned to an inside surface of the casesurrounding the plurality of openings so that the central portion issituated between the actuators and the controls and movable therewith,the sealing element being effective to prevent environmental intrusioninto contact with the instrument from outside the case through theopenings.